


it's a joke, mijo

by georgiehensley



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crack, Family Bonding, Gen, Humor, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 03:17:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13731999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley
Summary: hector discovers memes. that's it, that's the fic.





	it's a joke, mijo

**Author's Note:**

> i've seen some art on tumblr related to an au where hector's late, meaning he misses the bridge at the end of dia de los muertos and can't get back to the land of the dead, so i thought i'd write a little something for it. particularly this one panel i've seen in which hector discovers memes on the internet and asks what they are, which miguel finds hilarious.
> 
> jokes on him, though. once hector finds memes that he finds funny, miguel will never hear the end of them.
> 
> also, i take absolutely no credit for the concept of this au. i'm sorry i don't know who originally came up with the idea, but it certainly wasn't me.
> 
> oh, and i'm not mexican or a native spanish speaker. i did learn some spanish in school, so the use of spanish in this fic reflects both that and what i learned from the film. if you need anything translated, feel free to ask. i tried to make it easy enough to interpret, even if you don't know any spanish.

if miguel doesn’t get papá hector back to the land of the dead soon, he thinks he’s gonna go insane.

it’s not all bad, having him around. miguel really enjoys playing guitar and singing together, particularly when hector teaches him the songs from his journal that ernesto never used (and promptly complaining because they were all good, dammit). dressing him in modern clothes isn’t so bad, either.

but there’s just one thing hector’s learned in his time in the modern living world that miguel wishes he could take back.

“what are thoooose?” hector asks him when he returns home from school. miguel’s eyes narrow as his great-great-grandfather breaks out into a fit of laughter as if this isn’t the millionth time he’s asked that question.

“they’re  _mi chancletas_ ,” miguel grumbles, walking past the man to toss his backpack onto his bed. he turns around in time to catch hector running a bony finger under his eye, as though wiping away a tear.

“that never gets old,” he says, shaking his head. miguel groans, slapping a hand over his face.

if only miguel had never taught hector how to get onto his computer, or use the internet, he would have never discovered them...  _memes_. dumb, popular internet jokes used by miguel and other kids his age. but of course, hector found them and just had to go into his dad mode, therefore using them constantly in a way to be cool.

“here come  _ese chico_ ,” hector says another day when miguel returns from the family shoestore.  he brings a hand up to try and stifle his laugh, but it doesn’t work.

“ha ha,” miguel says in response.

“too much?” hector says, finally reading miguel’s expression and body language. miguel nods. “ _lo siento_ , miguel. i just thought they were funny!”

“it’s okay,” miguel says. “just dial it back a bit, yeah?” hector smiles and nods.

a couple days go by, and now it’s miguel’s turn to get revenge on his papá hector. he makes sure to be as quiet as possible when he enters his house that day, even slipping his shoes off upon walking through the door to keep his footsteps from making any noise. he tiptoes down the hall towards his room, where the door is shut.  _perfect_.

once there, he carefully - and slowly - opens the door, slipping inside, holding his breath before a few moments before... he screams. hector, who sits at miguel’s desk, with his back to his great-great-grandson, screams in response, his head popping off his neck. miguel bursts out laughing, even snorting from how hard he laughs. from his spot on the floor, hector glares at him.

“very funny,  _chamaco_ ,” he says, before his head rolls on the floor, rising up and landing right back on his neck again. he spins the chair around. “what was that for?”

“i just wanted to make things even,” miguel says, still giggling, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. hector sighs.

“alright, alright,” he says. “consider us even. there, happy?” miguel smiles and nods.

“ _mucho_.”


End file.
